Refrigerator



Patented Dee. 1 9, 1939 Clifton E. Herman, Columbus, Ohio ApplicationOctober 8, 1938, Serial No. 234,024

6 Claimm This invention relates broadly to refrigerators and isspecifically directed to an improvement in domestic type ofrefrigerators. The primary object of the invention resides inthe'provision of a refrigerator having a vertical partition to dividethe interior ofthe cabinet intofront and rear compartments in orderthatv when the door is opened, the entire interior of therefrigeratorwill not-be exposed to the external atmosphere but l@ aportion at therear of the partition will be protected therefrom. This feature willresult in a conservation of the cool air of theA refrigerator inasmuchas that behind the partition will be prevented from escaping.

E@ It is also an object of the invention to provide a partition havingan internal passage, the inlet of which is disposed in closed proximityto the cooling unit'. The outlet ofthe passage is arranged adjacent thelower portion of the cabinet whereby improved circulation of the'cooling air will be effected. This improved circulation will not beinterferred with by the order in which the articles to be cooled aredisposed upon the shelves in the refrigerator.

A still further object-rests in the provision of novel means formounting the partition in the cabinet so that it will be free to rotateto permit of access to the shelves on either side of the par,

tition.

It is also an object to provide the refrigerator with an improved shelfconstruction in which the rear portion of the shelf engaging the supportis provided with means to effect the support of the shelf, the outerportion of which is not supported., i j

An object of uthe invention also resides in the formation of a novelcabinet design, the cabinet being provided with a semicircular verticalrear `wall which `will conform to the contour oi the 4 shelves carriedby the rotatable partition. The

rounded rear wall makes the cabinet more easily Fig. 2 is a typicalhorizontalsectional view taken through the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through therefrigerator on the plane indicated by the lineIII-III of Fig. 2 andshows the i wall 3, front and side walls i and 5 and a rounded rearWalid. These walls cooperate to form an E@ enclosure?, in the upperportion of which is disposed a cooling unit 8 VThe front wall d isprovided with a door i3 through which access to the compartment i isobtained. The bottom' wall t is provided at the center for the radius oithe 2o arcuate back wall with a base plate l@ having an upstandingprojection il in which is formed a threaded opening i2. The threadedlower end of a vertically extending tubular column i3 is positioned inthe opening l2, the vertical position as of the column being maintainedby the secure engagement of the plate with the lower wall of thecabinet. n

The upper end of the column i3 receives a plug i@ having a centralsocket for the reception of 30 a felt Wick i5. The upper surface of theplug is depressed as at it to receive and support a steel y ball ilwhich furnishes an antifriction bearing for the rotatable support of apartition it. The

partition includes a rectangular wooden frame 35 i having upper andlower bars i9 and 2li, the outer ends oi which are connected by verticalbars 2l. The center of the lower bar 20 is formed with, an opening forthe reception of ansleeve 22 through which thercolumn I3 extends. At the40 center of the lupper bar, there is secured a fitting 23 having asocket formed in its under surface for the reception of the ball il.'lhe Weight lof the partition rests upon the ball and is free to rotatearound 'the' vertical axis provided by, the 4s column i3. l

A pair of brace rods 2d vextend diagonally between the upper bar i9 andthe lower bar 2B and serve to strengthen the framework and maintain itsrigidity. `The front and rear surfaces of the frame have metallic platesZ5 lsecured thereto to complete the' partition, the4 frame serving tospace the plates and provide -a passage therebetween. The sides of theupper bar of the frame are relieved as at 26 to provide 55 an entranceto the passage at the top of the partition. At the lower ends, the sideplates 2l include a plurality of openings 21 which constitute theoutlets of the passage'and permit cool air which enters the passage atthe top to pass outwardly from the interior ofthe partition to the.lower portion of the refrigerator cabinet.

The sides of the partition are provided with outwardly projecting hooks28 to receive and support semi-circular shelves ,29 whichinclude aperipheral frame 30 formed of a metallic strip, the ends of which arebent downwardly at right angles to the remaining portion of the bar. .AThe downwardly projecting portion 3l' of the strap engages the partitionbelow' the hooks and serves to hold the shell in a true horizontalposition. To complete the shelves, there is provided a plurality ofwires 32 which extend from the strap 3|! to a transverse brace 33extending between the end portions of the straps 30. The wires 32 may besecured to the members Ill and 33 by welding or any other suitablemeans. The.

intermediate portions of the wires I2 are braced by one or moretransverse wires 34 extending between the sides of the strap 30.

It will be seen from the foregoing that there has been provided animproved refrigerator construction in which means'are provided todividey the interior of the refrigerator cabinet into front and rearcompartments and that when the door` is opened to provide access to theinterior, the entire interior will not be exposed to the externalatmosphere but a portion behind the partition will be protected and theair and commodities contained therein unexposed to the atmosphere. Byrevolving the shelf upon its pivotal support. access may be had to thearticles on the shelves oni either side of the partition. y

While I have shown and described thev invention in its preferred form,it Will be understood that numerousL minor variations may be madetherein, such as increasing the number of compartments, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in thefollowing claims. I.

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, cooling means disposed in theupper portion of said cabinet, a vertically extending hollow partitionpositioned in said cabinet with its open upper endl in close proximityto said cooling means, said partition being provided with outletsadjacent its lower end, semicircular shelves supported by the sides ofsaid partition, and means for supporting said partition for swingingmovement around its longitudinal axis.

2. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, cooling means disposed in theupper portion of said cabinet, a vertically extending hollow partitionpositioned in said cabinet with its open upper end in close proximity tosaid cooling means, said pai'- tition being provided with laterallydirected outlets adiacent its lower end, semicircular shelves supportedby the sides of said partition, and.

means for supporting said partition for swinging movement around itslongitudinal axis.

3. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having top, bottom, front andside walls and a semicircular vertical rear wall, a base plate securedto the bottom wall in spaced relation to the side walls, a columnsupported in a vertical position by said base plate, a rectangular-framejournaled for movement around the axis of said column,

side-plates secured to said frame in spaced relation to provide apassage having an open top,v

walls, a column supported in a vertical position by said base plate, arectangular frame journaled for movement around the axis of said columnsubstantially diagonally extending brace means connected with saidframe, side plates secured to said frame in spaced relation to provide apassage having an open top, the lower portions of said side plates beingprovided with openings, and shelf means to the sides of saidV frame. Y

5. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having top, bottom, front, sideand rear walls, the rear wall being arcuate in horizontal cross section,a column rigidly positioned in said cabinet on the center for the arc ofsaid rear wall, a partition including a a rectangularI frame journaledaround the longitudinal axis of said column, plate means secured to thefront and rear of said frame to form a passage extending the full lengthof said partition, said passage having an inlet at the top and an outletat the bottom, and shelf means secured to the sides of said partition.

6. A refrigerator comprising 5. cabinet having a semicircular verticallyextending rear wall,' a vertically extending partition positioned insaid cabinet to divide the interior thereof into front and rearcompartments, a passageway extending vertically of said partition, aplurality of outlets provided in spaced relation from the upper end ofsaid passageway and establishing communication between said passagewayand said compartments, semicircular food'supporting shelves carried bysaid partition, and means for supporting said partition for swingingmovement about its vertical axis to alternately position the shelves oneach side in the front and rear compartments.

'ill

